Catfish
by randomklainer
Summary: Jake's POV. Prompt: Jake is secretly Ryder's online love interest that he's been talking to. NOW A THREE-SHOT.
1. Chapter 1

**Prompt (from AWinterTypeOfGuy): Jake is secretly Ryder's online love interest that he's been talking to.**

**This is completely separate to You're My Kryptonite (which if you haven't already, you should totally read it :p ).**

**If you have any prompts that you're keen for me to fill, send them in (fyi I don't write smut though).**

Ryder sighs for a third time. Jake is working on an assignment in the library with him and Marley. But it's getting hard to concentrate with all of Ryder's sighing. After sighing for a fourth time, he begins to speak.

'I still can't get over how amazing Katie is. She's smart, and hot, and we're just so compatible.'

Marley looks up from her notebook, confused by the sudden distraction. 'Who's Katie?'

Jake isn't really inclined to listen to Ryder's answer. Ryder's already told him all about her. And even if he hadn't, he would have already known, in far more detail than Ryder could ever imagine. But he finds himself listening anyway. 'I met her online. She's a – a friend.' Jake notices the way Ryder stumbles over the sentence. 'Actually, I was thinking about asking her out.'

This is news to Jake, and he can't help but feel a thrill of excitement. Soon, he could be dating his best friend. And, ok, sure, maybe it doesn't really count as officially dating, not in the way that he and Marley are. And maybe Ryder wouldn't realise that he was dating _his _best friend. But at least it would be something. And at least this way, he wouldn't be cheating on Marley. Well, that's what he tells himself.

Marley seems less excited. 'You seriously wanna date someone you've never met before? What if Katie turns out to be some seedy old man?'

And right in that moment, Jake knows he's never been as frustrated with Marley, or maybe anyone, before. With one simple little sentence, she may have just messed up every chance Jake has ever had with Ryder. Everything he's worked so hard towards.

He sees the look of alarm cross Ryder's face. 'Do you really think that could happen? Shit, I'd never thought about that before. What do I do?'

'You need to calm down,' Jake tells him, before Marley can make things any worse. 'You don't know that's the case. I bet it's all legit.'

Ryder thinks about that, drumming his pen against the table in a staccato that quickly becomes annoying. 'Maybe she is too good to be true. Maybe it is all a lie. Shit, I can't believe I was about to date some old dude.'

And shit, could this conversation go any worse? 'Whoa, don't get too ahead of yourself. Just because she might not be real, it doesn't mean it's some creep. It could just be a teenage girl who used a fake photo.' Ok, sure, Ryder thinking that Katie's not real isn't ideal, but that didn't mean Jake couldn't swing it round to his favour.

Ryder seems genuinely hurt by this idea. 'But why would she lie to me?'

'Maybe she's fugly.' Jake shrugs his shoulders, aims for nonchalance. He's not sure that he pulled it off though.

'So? That wouldn't make me like her any less.' And the earnestness with which he says it really is cute. Adorable even. But Jake can't help but wonder if it's really true.

Marley rejoins the conversation now. She'd gone back to her work, but now her pen dangles from her fingers, and her eyes are bright with excitement. 'Maybe she goes to this school.'

Seriously, what was up with Marley putting her foot in everything?

Ryder's brow was furrowed in confusion. 'I don't get it.'

'Maybe someone from this school has a crush on you, but thinks you wouldn't ever be interested in them. So you fall in love with Katie, and you fall in love with them.' Jake can't believe how exact Marley has it. 'I bet that it's Dottie.'

'No I know,' Jake adds, nudging Ryder for emphasis. 'It's secretly you, isn't it Marley?' She splutters for a few moments, shocked, before she notices the way Jake and Ryder are laughing. She soon joins in, until the librarian is shushing them.

Wiping a stray tear from his eye, Jake turns back to Ryder. 'What would you do if Katie was actually some other teenager?'

'I dunno, I mean, if they've been honest about everything else, I think I could still fall for them.' Ryder's quiet for a moment, contemplative. 'Well, unless it was a guy.'

Jake can feel his heart sink, all the hope that had built up now crashing down around him. He tries to ignore it, tries to fight through the thick fog of despondency. Ryder's still trying to speak to him.

'Why are you so caught up on this anyway?'

Jake tries to force some enthusiasm into his voice. 'I don't want you to miss this opportunity, dude. I mean, what if Katie's your one chance at love?'

Ryder watches him for a moment, head tilted to the side as if he's really giving it some thought. Eventually though, he just slams his notebook shut instead. 'Nope, too profound. My brain's done for the day. How about some food? My shout.'

'Only if you buy me French fries.' Jake is too busy packing his things to notice the odd look Ryder is giving him.

Xxx

A week later, when Jake logs in as Katie, he sees Ryder online for the first time since their conversation. He goes to talk to Ryder, but he beats Jake to it, two lines of text popping up on the screen.

_I think I could end up falling for you_

_Jake_


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I wasn't going to continue this, but Tincho P and Blamx3 both asked me to. So here we are. This is for the both of you.**

Ryder had gone offline the moment that he sent the message. So now, the following day, Jake has cornered him at school.

He leans against the locker next to Ryder's, in an attempt to be casual. 'So, what happens now?'

Ryder turns, startled, having not seen Jake arrive. 'What do you mean?'

'Well,' Jake drags the word out, 'you know the truth now. So what does that make us?'

Ryder turns back to his locker, continues to shove books in as he mumbles a response. 'Can we just keep things how they are?'

Jake doesn't reply, just kicks at the ground with the toe of his shoe. He's disappointed, hurt.

Ryder must notice, because he turns back, keeping his eyes downcast as he tries to explain. 'It's just, I'm not ready for anything more. I don't even know how I feel about you.'

When Jake responds, he's not even sure if he's joking, or if it's an earnest question. Nevertheless, he tries to force a smile. 'So I shouldn't be dumping Marley just yet?'

Ryder seems almost alarmed by the idea. 'No, definitely not. I can't even promise that I'll ever have feelings for you.'

'But we're still friends?' Even to his own ears, his voice sounds flat.

When Ryder replies, it seems forced as well. 'Yea, of course.'

And Jake can't help but wonder why he let this all happen. Because they're both really hurting as a result. And it's all his fault.

Xxx

Everything changes. And Jake isn't really even surprised. Things become awkward, their time filled with uncomfortable silence. Once, they were able to talk freely, easily. Now, they don't have a clue what to say to each other.

And Jake's sure he isn't imagining the sexual tension between them. He keeps catching Ryder staring at his lips. On the rare occasions that they make eye contact, they can't look away, charged atmosphere building around them until it becomes overwhelming, unbearable. Jake can hardly bear to touch Ryder, fearful that he might cross some boundary. And he feels like he has to constantly restrain himself from leaning forward and kissing Ryder.

They have been using Marley as a buffer, and that makes things somewhat easier. They can generally rely on her to keep a conversation ticking along, filling up those awkward silences. And she seems to dilute the power that Ryder has over Jake. A distraction to focus on, instead of obsessing over every little detail that is Ryder. He thinks her constant presence might be the only thing that's stopped him from actually kissing Ryder.

But as they're sitting at lunch one day, all gratefulness for her presence goes out the window when she begins to talk.

'So, Ryder, how're things going with Katie?'

Jake sees Ryder's face fill with alarm, and knows that his must be the same. 'Um, well, we haven't really talked in a while.'

'What happened?'

Jake tries to focus on eating as Ryder stumbles through an answer. 'Um, well, it's, ah, it's kinda complicated.'

'What do you mean?'

And now Ryder's starting to sound upset, his voice barely above a whisper. 'I don't really want to talk about it.'

'Well, did you ever find out who she is?'

Jake suddenly finds himself unable to keep quiet. He's not sure if it's his own discomfort, or the fact that Ryder's hurting, but he answers her sharply, harshly. 'Just leave him alone, Marley.'

He hears Marley draw in a sharp breath, offended. He waits for her to respond, for an argument to break out, but it's silent. For the rest of the lunch break. So much for using Marley to avoid awkward silences. But the small smile of thanks that Ryder gives him is worth it.

Xxx

Jake and Marley make up from their 'fight' in the cafeteria. Even still, Jake figures he shouldn't be surprised when Marley dumps him a week later. Obsessively crushing on your best friend is always going to affect romantic relationships.

Xxx

Jake's sitting in the choir room, waiting for glee club to start. He's the first one there, and so he takes the time to think.

He's never felt more alone. He's single, and it doesn't seem like that's about to change. He doesn't really have any friends either. Not like he used to. Things are strained with both Ryder and Marley, and he kinda feels like it's not worth the effort.

Being alone sucks so much more now that he's had a chance to feel like he belongs.

Jake looks up as Ryder enters the room, surprised when he takes the seat next to him. It's over a month since Ryder found out he was Katie. He's given up hope of things ever returning to normal between them. And he's definitely given up hope of Ryder ever being interested in him.

Jake can't help but be surprised when Ryder begins to speak. 'Y'know, I haven't talked to Katie online in a while.'

Jake glances over at him, confused. 'Why would that matter?'

Ryder chews on his thumb a moment before answering. 'I never got a chance to ask her out.'

Now Jake is even more confused. 'What the hell are you talking about, Ryder?'

Ryder doesn't answer. He places a hand on Jake's knee though, and starts to lean forward. Jake still has no idea what's going on. It's not until he feels Ryder's lips on his that he works it out. It takes a moment, but soon he is kissing Ryder back. One hand is in Ryder's hair, the other wrapped around his back, pulling him forward. Ryder goes with it, wrapping his arms around Jake's shoulders as he lands on his lap.

Eventually, they pull away. Jake leans his forehead against Ryder's, trying to catch his breath. 'I'm sure Katie would love to go out with you.'

Ryder smiles, wide and genuine, and Jake realises how much he's missed that smile. 'Good,' he tells Jake, punctuating it with a kiss to the corner of his mouth. 'Because I've definitely fallen for her.'


	3. Chapter 3

**So matchbookjealousy wanted to know what was going on in Ryder's head. I was gonna just rewrite it from his POV, but I decided to do it like this instead. Hopefully this fills in the missing pieces.**

**At this rate, I kinda wonder if this is gonna end up being a complete fic, since people keep prompting more. Hopefully not though, because I have another one-shot that I want to work on.**

Jake and Ryder are lying on a picnic rug in Ryder's back yard. It's the first really nice day since the snow disappeared, and they didn't want to be cooped up inside. They're lying perpendicular to each other, Ryder's head resting on Jake's chest. Jake cards a hand through Ryder's hair, the other resting on Ryder's stomach, tangled with ten other fingers.

Jake finds himself thinking about how they got into this situation. Eventually, he breaks the silence, hoping for an answer to the question that's plaguing him. 'Hey babe, how did you work out I was Katie?'

Ryder doesn't reply for a moment, instead turning Jake's hand over and over in his own. 'It started with that conversation in the library. Just the fact that you were so caught up in it. And I saw the way you deflated when I said I wouldn't be into a guy. When you said you wanted French fries, it reminded me how Katie loved French fries. For about a second, I thought you might have been Katie.'

Ryder falls silent at that, and Jake uses his hand to tilt Ryder's head towards him. 'And then, a week later, you were telling me you knew?'

'Yea, well, it turned out I couldn't get the idea out of my head. I found myself going over everything you ever said, rereading every conversation with Katie. And I watched the way you acted. It got to the point where it was super obvious.' Jake feels slightly embarrassed at this, but Ryder just laughs lightly before continuing. 'I wasn't gonna say anything. But I saw how upset you were. I wanted you to know you had more chance than you thought.'

'But still not much?'

Ryder rolls to his side at this, cupping Jake's face with one hand. 'I'm here now, aren't I?'

'Yea,' Jake mumbles in agreement, hating that he feels so vulnerable. 'But why are you, though? Why am I the one exception?'

Ryder chuckles. 'I don't really know. When I thought about Katie being a faceless girl, I was excited. A faceless guy, no way it was gonna happen. When I thought about you, I could kinda imagine it happening. And that kinda scared me. I really didn't know what to think.'

Jake's getting uncomfortable, so he sits up carefully, supporting Ryder until he can settle him in his lap. Ryder runs a hand gently against his stomach as Jake begins to speak. 'That must have been confusing for you. No wonder it took you so long.'

'I'm sorry about that.' And Ryder looks like he feels genuinely guilty. Jake smooths Ryder's hair off his forehead, thumb running back and forth reassuringly.

'Hey, no, it doesn't matter. You're here now, remember?' Ryder smiles at this, but he still seems unsure. 'So, what made you fall for me? Was it my handsome good looks?'

Ryder actually laughs at this. 'No. Although you are definitely cute,' he adds hastily, in response to Jake's feigned hurt. 'I was just attracted to you, I'm not even sure why. I just kept thinking about all the reasons why I loved having you as a friend. And I eventually realised that those reasons made me want to date you. But I think the tension is what clued me in most.'

'Oh, so I wasn't imagining it, then.' He means it as a joke, but at the same time Jake can't help but feel relieved.

They fall silent for a while, and Jake starts to think Ryder is falling asleep. Suddenly though, he speaks up. 'Jake, can I ask you a question.' He nods in response. 'Why did you create Katie?'

Jake breathes in deeply before answering, wanting to get the wording right. 'Because I was in love with you. And I wanted you to love me back, at least in some capacity.'

Ryder's watching him with wide eyes, and suddenly he's scrambling out of Jake's lap, sitting up and turning so that they're face to face. 'You love me?' It comes out as a whisper.

'Yea, I do.'

They're so close now, and when Ryder replies, Jake can feel the ghost of his breath on his lips. 'I love you, too.'


End file.
